Various components have been added to motor vehicles to improve the vehicles or to improve their performance including a number of suspension components. Air bump stops, or simply “air bumps” have been added to vehicles to absorb energy when the vehicle suspension bottoms out, for example, when the wheel of the vehicle hits a bump in the road or ground surface that the vehicle is driving on, or the vehicle impacts with the road or ground after becoming partially or fully airborne from traveling over a bump. Air bump stops typically absorb more energy and provide less rebound that rubber bump stops provided on most stock vehicles. Air bump stops have been sold in kits and mounted from the frames of vehicles, and air bump impact pads have been attached to the axles of vehicles below the air bump stops so that the air bump stop impacts with the impact pad when the corresponding wheel of the vehicle hits a bump. Air bump stops have been found to be particularly beneficial on vehicles that are driven on rough or uneven surfaces at a relatively-high speed. Air bump stops have been installed, for example, on vehicles that are often driven off road, such as light-duty trucks, including pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Further, air bump stops have been added to vehicles used for off-road racing. On the other hand, air bump stops have also been used on vehicles used primarily or exclusively on streets and highways.
Despite the benefit of air bump stops, however, the force generated when a vehicle hits a bump and the air bump stop impacts with impact pad has damaged the frames of vehicles to which air bump stops have been added. Specifically, severe impacts have fatigued, cracked, twisted, or bent (or a combination thereof) the frame of the vehicle. In addition, elastic deformation of the frame has reduced the energy-absorbing potential or capability of air bump stops. As a result, a need or potential for improvement exists for an apparatus that can be added to a vehicle to support the frame of the vehicle and to provide robust mounts for air bump stops. Further, potential for benefit or improvement exists for such an apparatus to be stiff, strong, fatigue resistant, relatively easy to install on a vehicle, relatively inexpensive, relatively easy to manufacture, relatively light weight, and sufficiently compact for shipping. Moreover, a need or potential for improvement exists for a kit that contains various components needed to support the frame of a vehicle while providing mounts for air bump stops, to improve the vehicle or the performance of the vehicle. Further, various needs or potential for improvement exists for particular methods of improving vehicles or the performance of a vehicle that include supporting the frame of the vehicle and providing mounts for air bump stops. Other needs or potential for benefit or improvement may also be described herein or known in the automotive performance industry. Room for improvement exists over the prior art in these and other areas that may be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art having studied this document.
These drawings illustrate, among other things, examples of certain components and aspects of particular embodiments of the invention. Other embodiments may differ. Various embodiments may include some or all of the components or aspects shown in the drawings, described in the specification, shown or described in other documents that are incorporated by reference, known in the art, or a combination thereof, as examples. Further, embodiments of the invention can include a subcombination of the components shown in any particular drawing, components from multiple drawings, or both.